Vauxhall Motors presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of the Blueprinting process

Design partnership Studio Glithero complete a series of ceramic products reinventing the classic “white on blue” Jasperware style for the Vauxhall Collective

London based duo Studio Glithero present a cutting edge collection of ceramics for the Vauxhall Collective. In a contemporary take of the Blueprint, chemically infused ceramic surfaces react to ultraviolet light capturing the ghostly impression of botanical specimens, including those of weeds taken from social housing projects across the UK, bringing the theme of Reinventing British Classics right up to date.

Asked to reflect on the Vauxhall Collective’s theme, the Anglo-Dutch design studio found inspiration from the Victorian period of great discoveries, when British explorers travelled the world in search of new exotic species. In 1840 chemist and botanist John Hershel invented the Blueprinting process, marking the advent of photography and offering his fellow pioneers an invaluable tool to record and document their discoveries.

Studio Glithero travelled to the UK’s centre for ceramic heritage, Stoke-on-Trent, in a Vauxhall Astra ecoFLEX and worked with master ceramicists to produce the highest possible quality products. The result of this research is an innovative process bringing together an artisan approach to ceramics with a rare use of photography.

In keeping with the early Blueprinting techniques, a series of white vases and tiles were embedded with light-reacting chemicals. A combination of weeds and images of botanical specimens inspired to Kew Garden’s Herbarium were arranged on the ceramic surfaces and exposed to UV light causing an intense colour transformation from white to Prussian blue. What is left is a crisp white silhouette of the specimens, creating intricate floral designs on the deep blue background; a homage to the classic British Jasperware tradition of white on blue ceramics.

The series of light sensitive objects include a selection of tiles and two editions of individually numbered vases, all of which bear a unique impression on their surfaces. They can be bought from the Vauxhall Collective website, for more information visit www.vauxhallcollective.co.uk. Studio Glithero continue to work on this technique and are currently developing a lightshade as part of the range.

Blueware Tiles, 2009

Set of 12 tiles, £150

Botanical specimens are arranged on glass plates placed over tiles, exposed to UV light they operate like a photographic negative. The plates are flipped to achieve symmetrical compositions and ordered patterns.

Blueware Vases, 2009

Large numbered, limited edition vase £700
Medium numbered, limited edition vase £500

Botanical specimens are fixed to the surface of the vases using flower pressing techniques. The vases are exposed to a UV light on a rotating spit, capturing the plant-life from leaf to root, reminiscent of white on blue Jasperware cameos.

Editor’s Notes:

Studio Glithero
Studio Glithero is a London based Anglo-Dutch design alliance.

Founded by Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren, who met at the Royal College of Art, the studio creates miraculous time-based installations, and processes which give birth to unique and wonderful products.

With their own concoction of design performance, they aim to bridge creative disciplines and reach a universal audience.

Recent projects include Pique & Double Pique, a pair of self-supporting candles, a series of vases impregnated with light sensitive chemicals and Big Dipper where an audience can witness the complete life of a product, from the moment the chandeliers are conceived until the moment they burn and perish.

Vauxhall Collective
The Vauxhall Collective is one of the most ambitious commercially-funded creative support schemes in the UK.

Members of the Vauxhall Collective are supported financially to carry out projects, consequently raising their profile in the industry and in the media, and giving them the resources to fulfil their creative potential.

In previous years Vauxhall successfully ran the VX Collective based on collaboration between members. Previous members have included Giles Deacon, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Kelsey, Simon Hasan, Ben Rivers, Gayle Chong Kwan, Matthew Darbyshire and Gideon Reeling

Contacts:

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Ellen Harrison: ellen@ideageneration.co.uk
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
Vauxhall Collective website
Vauxhall website

Fly Me Home is an exciting new venture in which homeless and vulnerably housed young people will make, build and fly a hot air balloon to raise awareness of the growing number of people without homes in the UK.
The project, launched by the award winning homeless charity Film It, aimsto raise awareness of the growing problem of the hidden homeless.

The Fly Me Home balloon will be printed with up to 30,000 signatures and messages of support to raise awareness and tackle the growing problem of people living on the streets. On the 11th December the balloon will be tethered outside St Pauls where it will be blessed by the Dean of St Pauls Cathedral in preparation for its flight across the Capital next spring. It has been ten years since the Dean of St Pauls Cathedral last carried out such a blessing.

A ten pound donation will give supporters the chance to win a ride and write a message on the balloon itself. That money will go towards helping young people back into education, training and employment. From there it’s a shortstep to a home of their own.

At the heart of Film It’s work is the understanding that vulnerable people need to address social behaviour and self esteem before they can move on to employability skills, Fly Me Home tackles this problem. For many, formal education is not an option as they have suffered exclusion from schools or their own family. The Fly Me Home project will form the centrepiece of a new social enterprise in which the homeless will be given the opportunity to regain control of their lives.

Thanks to Fly Me Home each young person will be offered individual tailored mentoring support that will be
designed to address their particular issues, directing them towards ongoing help and further encouraging them tocreate stable relationships.

A Landmark Photographic Exhibition

Exhibition: 10th March – 6th April 2010 Somerset House
Private View: Tuesday, 9th March 2010
Auction: 15th April 2010, Christie’s, King Street, London

The must-see photographic event for London 2010, showcasing the finest 20th and 21st century photography from around the world

For one month only, from 10th March to 6th April 2010, A Positive View returns to showcase an extraordinary range of photography on a truly international scale, under the Royal Patronage of Prince William supporting Crisis, the homelessness charity.

The third edition of this fully curated, museum-scale photographic exhibition, to be held at Somerset House, will bring together more than 100 rare and signed vintage works across almost a century of photography; classic and contemporary works will cross a variety of genres, from still-life, fashion, landscape, portraiture and reportage. It will be followed by a Royal Gala reception and auction at Christie’s on 15th April, in aid of Crisis.

Two outstanding masterpieces by Henri Cartier-Bresson will be on show; his renowned Seville (1933) and the magical Queen Charlotte’s Ball, London (1959). Other highlights will include a rare landscape by Elliot Erwitt, Wyoming Steam-Train Press, (1954); Friends of the Spanish Press (1968) by the winner of the 2007 Venice Biennale Golden Lion, Malick Sidibe, a haunting image from Robert Polidori’s New Orleans series (2006) and Corinne Day’s iconic and first-ever seen photograph of the supermodel Kate Moss, Kate (1990). These will be shown along with a stunning still life of Francis Bacon’s Studio (2001) from Perry Ogden’s 7 Reece Mews series and Wim Wenders’ classic Lounge Painting, Gila Bend, Arizona (1987).

For the first time, A Positive View will also feature work from contemporary artists whose creative practice incorporates photography, with geographically diverse representations from Korea, China, Japan and West Africa.

With signature works by Seydou Keita, Yum Joongho, Bohn-Chang Koo and Weng Fen among others, A Positive View will provide an unusual and interesting opportunity to consider how practitioners beyond Europe and America are working with photography. In another departure, the 2010 edition of A Positive View will also include works by unknown photographers, all clients of the homelessness charity Crisis who have been studying photography at the Crisis Skylight, education, training and employment centres in London and Newcastle.

Exhibition Curator, Nadim Samman states: “As A Positive View benefits people on the margins of society, this exhibition brings together images of a notional ‘centre’ – social icons, home, the West – with peripheral visions. In some cases the display suggests their unsettling interdependence. At the same time, as with previous editions, A Positive View continues to showcase the achievements of leading photographers past and present.”

Each of the works donated by the photographers, or their representatives and estates, have been included in the exhibition following a stringent selection process by A Positive View Patrons, who include Philippe Garner, International Head of Photographs at Christie’s, and Tim Jefferies, Director of Hamilton’s Gallery, with exhibition curator Nadim Samman.

Patron Philippe Garner said: “This exhibition is truly international in scope and represents the contemporary vitality and authority of the photographic medium across many genres. I have spent forty years as a champion of photography and I find it very rewarding to be part of such a stimulating project – one that invites us to celebrate the medium for so very worthwhile a cause.”

The exhibition will be followed by a Royal Gala reception – co-hosted by Barclays Wealth and Vogue – and the charity auction of 100 of the most collectible works at Christie’s London on 15th April 2010 with 100% of the sales proceeds going to Crisis.

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “We are delighted that the third edition of A Positive View will be in aid of Crisis. The quality of the international work donated has been extraordinary and the generosity of the photographers and their representatives without rival. The exhibition also poses a unique opportunity for our clients’ creative achievements to be recognised on an international platform. Prince William’s interest in homelessness and generous involvement as patron is a key ingredient to what promises to be the most impressive A Positive View yet.”

A 200-page fully-illustrated coffee-table book will be published in March, and will be available for purchase from Somerset House, Christie’s internationally, specialist art bookshops and online (£25, March 2010). A limited edition, signed and numbered hardback edition will also be available (£100, March 2010).

To date works have been donated by photographers or their representatives below:

Berenice Abbott
Bryan Adams
Miles Aldridge
Dick Arentz
Eve Arnold
Richard Avedon
Enqrique Badulescu
Roger Ballen
Bae Bein-U
Lillian Bassman
Cecil Beaton
Denise Bellon
Harry Benson
Rut Blees
Liu Bolin
Julian Broad
Richard Burbridge
Edward Burtynsky
Byun Soon-Choel
Bob Carlos Clarke
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Cho Seihon
Chun Kyung-Yoo
Jim Cooke
Tom Craig
Corinne Day
Patrick Demarchelier
Susan Derges
Robert Doisneau
Terrence Donovan
Arthur Elgort
Elliott Erwitt
Weng Fen
Tierney Gearon
Oberto Gili
Goo Kang-Hong
Brian Girffin
Roderik Henderson
Thurston Hopkins
Horst P Horst
Frank Horvat
Tom Hunter
Stephen Inggs
Yousuf Karsh
Seydou Keita
Steven Klein
William Klein
Koo Bohn-Chang
Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Kurt Markus
Jean-Pierre Masclet
Don McCullin
Mert and Marcus
Ryan McGinley
Shelia Metzner
Min Byung-Hyun
Abelardo Morell
Helmut Newton
Simon Norfolk
Perry Ogden
Oh Hein-Kuhn
Gwon Osang
Norman Parkinson
Irving Penn
Matthew Pillsbury
Robert Polidori
Wan Qingsong
Mark Quinn
Rankin
Herb Ritts
Grace Robertson
George Rodger
Willy Ronis
Malik Sidibe
Peggy Sirota
Manit Sriwanichpoom
Mikhail Subotzky
John Swannell
Juergen Teller
Mario Testino
Tessa Traeger
Ellen von Unworth
Albert Watson
Bruce Weber
Wim Wenders
Amiran White
Yoo Hyum-Mi
Tim Walker
Angela Williams
Richard Young
Yum Joongho

Editor’s Notes:

A Positive View
This is the third edition of A Positive View, a photography exhibition and auction founded by Andrew Page.

A Positive View was first held in London during 1994, sponsored by Vogue. The exhibition was held at the Saatchi Gallery and the auction was hosted by Sotheby’s. The event raised nearly £250k, benefiting the Chicken Shed Theatre Company. The Princess of Wales was Patron.

This success was followed by a second A Positive View in 2000, sponsored by Getty Images. The exhibition was held at the Atlantis Gallery in the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, and the auction was hosted by Christie’s, raising almost £250k for national youth charity Fairbridge. Princess Alexandra was Patron.

Each exhibition featured over 200 donated and signed works, 120 of which were selected for auction. Images were attracted from 14 countries including the UK, America, Canada, Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Australia, India, Brazil, Peru and South Africa.

Works were donated by photographers, agents, galleries and foundations representing major names such as; Parkinson, Snowdon, Erwitt, Hoyningen-Huene, Stern, Weber, Lucas, Alvarez-Bravo, Sirota, Demarchelier, Elgort, O’Neill, Lartigue, Ritts, Hanson, Deakin, Lagerfeld, Weegee, Penn, Weston, Horvat, Karsh, Miller, Hardy, Brandt, Salgado, Bailey, Arnold, Arentz, Moon, Beaton, Donovan, Lategan.

Crisis
Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.

The charity’s award winning education, training and employment centres, Crisis Skylight, offer practical and creative workshops to over 3000 homeless people a year in an inspiring environment together with formal learning opportunities that lead to qualifications and finding work. The wide range of courses include art, drama, photography, literacy, numeracy and IT, help people to restore their well-being, regain confidence, develop their skills and raise aspirations.

Members of the photography class in both London and Newcastle have been trained to such a high standard that a selection of the best photographs produced will be included in the exhibition.

www.crisis.org.uk

Nadim Samman – Curator
Nadim Samman read Philosophy at University College London before completing a Master’s degree at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he is currently pursuing doctoral research on the reception of post-Soviet art in the West.

He has curated exhibitions featuring critically acclaimed artists and photographers including Tarkovsky, Parr, Teller, Ray Jones, Sutkus, Ponomarev and Makarevich. His writing has appeared in publications including The Art Newspaper, Contemporary, Art India, Asian Affairs, Erotic Review, WestEast (Hong Kong), and Naked Punch.

He has previously lectured at the 798 Beijing Biennale (2009), The School of Oriental and African Studies, The Royal Society for Asian Affairs, Christie’s and The Courtauld Institute of Art.

Sponsors
The profile and legacy of previous A Positive View exhibitions have attracted an impressive line-up of blue chip sponsors and supporters ensuring all overheads are covered. 100% of all income will benefit Crisis

Sponsored by Barclays Wealth
Gallery partner GlaxoSmithKlein
Book partner Samsung
International carrier FedEx

Philippe Garner – Christie’s
Philippe Garner is a Director of Christie’s and the firm’s International Head of Photographs and 20th Century Decorative Art & Design. He has been professionally involved with photographs since co-ordinating the 1971 auction that marked the launch of this subject in the international art market. In the intervening decades he has brought to auction a great diversity of material including major collections such as those of Marie Thérèse and André Jammes, Paul Walter, Gert Elfering and Leon Constantiner. Philippe is well known as a passionate advocate of the medium and has published widely on various aspects of photography that particularly interest him. He has curated exhibitions in London, Paris and Tokyo.

Contacts:

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Natasha Hoare: natasha@ideageneration.co.uk
Natalie Tacq: natalie@ideageneration.co.uk
A Positive View website
Crisis website
Somerset House website

Vauxhall Motors announces the completion of a landmark photographic commission by Seba Kurtis

A new body of portraits by photographer Seba Kurtis explores the rich diversity of the British population in a new commission by Vauxhall Motors

Photographer Seba Kurtis first arrived in Europe as an illegal immigrant from Argentina. He followed the dream of a perfect life that attracts many to first world countries, considering Europe as a Promised Land. In this stunning series of portraits commissioned by Vauxhall, Kurtis explores his pre-conceptions of British people whilst simultaneously re-inventing what it means to be British in today’s multicultural society.

Fascinated by stereotypical characters like the English Rose and the British Gentleman, Kurtis wanted to analyse how their modern re-incarnation differs from the original, drawing a parallel between the idealised classic British life imagined as an immigrant, and the everyday reality.

In this cathartic work he travelled to London, Manchester, Blackpool, Cheshire, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bradford, Rhyl and Brighton, where he spent days shooting on a large format camera, documenting hundreds of people. In his personal re-interpretation of classic British characters, Kurtis captures an insightful snapshot of the UK today whilst getting to know the people who are now part of the country’s population.

People like Agata, born in the UK from Polish parents, who spent her childhood in Britain. She moved back to Poland as a teenager, but has now returned to London as a young woman. Agata belongs to two countries and embraces two different cultures; she suffers an identity crisis, a situation mirrored in Kurtis’ portrait, where the young woman is suspended in a dreamy reality and yet conveys her determination to succeed in life.

Gemma was born and bred in the UK. Having left her family, she chose to be a traveller, and makes a living out of performing with her two horses in circus-style events. The portrait depicts the English girl in her bright pink costume, jarring against her dilapidated surrounding.

Sata, an Iranian Kurd, known as Star to his friends, was only 14 when he escaped Iran by swimming to Turkey. It took him two years to get to the UK, during which time he was homeless in Greece, France and Italy. After 6 attempts he finally managed to enter the UK hidden in a lorry, four years ago. He will not be able to see his family ever again, and should he return to Iran, he could face hanging. He still doesn’t have a passport, but has been granted permission to stay in the UK. He works in a kebab shop in Cheshire.

Ahmed, a grocer who has lived in the UK for over 20 years, Jordy, from Manchester, who has been raised in foster care and is now a social worker, Sweet, who works illegally 16 hours a day to support her three children in South America, and many others, contribute to the series of portraits reflecting Kurtis’ view of the UK: multicultural, illegal, aspirational and, moreover, deeply human.

As a trademark of his work, Kurtis purposely ruins the films whilst still undeveloped, exposing them to the sunlight for a few seconds. This action results in the photographs taking on imperfections and light, symbolising both a positive message of hope and a reminder that the dream of a perfect life is always to be balanced with reality.

Winner of the Vauxhall Collective Photography category Seba Kurtis was chosen by a panel of industry experts for his ability to create powerful and yet delicate work, drawing from his own personal experience to reflect on universally shared emotions. Commissioned by Vauxhall Motors to create a body of photographs on the theme “reinventing British classics”, he has produced a series of portraits capturing the essence of British people today; whether they are born and bred in the UK, second generation residents or illegal immigrants.

Editor’s Notes:

Seba Curtis
Seba Kurtis is an artist and photographer who grew up in Buenos Aires. He studied journalism and was a political activist. With the political difficulties in Argentina, he left for Europe and remained in Spain as an
illegal immigrant for over 5 years. This experience became the main inspiration for his work, an exploration
of the dynamics behind irregular migration and the subsequent impact on culture, society and the individual.
His recent work 700 miles, a series of portraits of illegal Hispanic immigrants living on the US border, explores the identity of these often nameless people and celebrates the story behind the sitter. In Drowned, Kurtis highlighted the plight of tens of thousands of Africans who head for the Canary Islands every year. Many are suspected to have drowned off the coast of Spain, Kurtis recorded scenes around the Canary Islands and dropped the negatives into the ocean. The images that washed up on the shore are the images that survived.

Vauxhall Collective
The Vauxhall Collective is one of the most ambitious commerciallyfunded creative support schemes in the UK. Members of the Vauxhall Collective are supported financially to carry out projects, consequently raising their profile in the industry and in the media, and giving them the resources to fulfil their creative potential. In previous years Vauxhall successfully ran the VX Collective based on collaboration between members. Previous members have included Giles Deacon, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Kelsey, Simon Hasan, Ben Rivers, Gayle Chong Kwan, Matthew Darbyshire and Gideon Reeling. With an ongoing commitment to championing style and design in the UK, British car marque Vauxhall is a keen supporter of creativity through additional initiatives such as the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair 2009 and the Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Latest models include Insignia, the 2009 European Car of the Year and New Astra, a car that shares the same design language as Insignia and that will be built in Ellesmere Port, Liverpool. Vauxhall is reinventing the car as we know it with Ampera. Vauxhall’s first electric car. The wheels are turned electronically at all times and all speeds and can be plugged into any household 240v outlet for charging.

Contacts:

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Ellen Harrison: ellen@ideageneration.co.uk
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
Vauxhall Collective website
Vauxhall website
Seba Kurtis website

Festival of light to become a regular event for Durham as Lumiere is hailed as spectacular success

Producers of extraordinary live events Artichoke announced today, Wednesday 18th November, that Lumiere would become a biennial event in Durham, after at the spectacular success of the festival which took place over four consecutive nights, 12th – 15th November.

At least 75,000 people thronged the city’s streets during the festival, filling the city’s restaurants and cafes, trains and buses, and every available parking space. Staged as part of Durham’s bid for UK capital of culture in 2013, Lumiere is the largest festival of its kind to take place in the UK, and included no less than seven new commissions and more than 50 UK and international artists. Lumiere is part of the 2009 Sky Arts Artichoke Season.

Festival highlights included the brand new commission Crown of Light, a collaboration between projection artist, Ross Ashton, composer and arranger Robert Ziegler, and sound designer John Del’Nero, whose remarkable son et lumiere projected onto the Cathedral exterior enthralled crowds. Inside the Cathedral, United Visual Artists had recreated Chorus, 8 swinging pendulums of light suspended in the Cathedral nave: thousands filed underneath this and then into the Cathedral cloisters to experience Daan Roosegaarde’s Dune, an installation of illuminated flowers turning this way and that in response to movement and sound. Durham’s dramatic architecture and landscapes were transformed by artworks and installations by Ron Haselden, FIELD, Speirs and Major Associates, Simon Corder, Creatmosphere, Mia Kosminksy, Bureau of Silly Ideas, Filament, Air Vag, Tae Gon Kim, and Tim Etchells, while French theatrical companies, Quidams and La Salamandre led magical processions through the nooks and crannies of the city’s medieval streets.

Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council said: “Lumiere has been a spectacular success for Durham. We are delighted that Artichoke agreed to work with us and we are now talking to them about a biennial festival of light, one that would continue to forge links with artists and communities throughout the county, up to and including 2013″.

Helen Marriage, Artistic Director of Artichoke said: “We were really delighted to have been invited to produce Lumiere in Durham. When our local co-producer David Bilton of dgb events came up with the idea of a collaboration, we were immediately inspired both by the very strong partnerships that exist within this extraordinary city as well as its wonderful architecture and landscapes.”

Durham County Council in partnership with the University and the Cathedral is rightly proud of its historic cultural heritage with the world renowned World Heritage Site. All Durham’s institutions are backing the city’s bid to win the newly designated UK City of Culture for 2013.

Artichoke’s involvement, together with principal sponsor Sky Arts, meant that an ambitious programme designed to animate every nook and cranny of the city was made possible. Sky Arts co-commissioned the Sky Walkers – living artworks that took to the streets to distribute information to passers-by. The channel will also create a series of short films following ten of the Lumiere artists, exploring the inspiration behind their installations and the technical challenges involved, as well as a 30-minute documentary of the whole event to air in December.

“We were delighted to see how Lumiere came to life on the streets of Durham,” comments John Cassy, director of Sky Arts. “We’d been following the artistic process of many of the artists involved, and so to see their work realised, and to see the thousands of people that were engaged and inspired by it, was truly exciting.”

Lumiere forms part of North East England’s world-class programme of festivals and events, developed by culture10. Supported by Durham County Council, Lumiere is also a measure of Durham’s scale of commitment to developing the city’s cultural offering for its communities and visitors, underlined by the recent announcement of its intention to bid to be the first UK City of Culture in 2013.

Lumiere will air on Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts1 on Sunday 8th December at 7pm and 15th December at 6.30pm.

Editor’s Notes

Artichoke
Artichoke is a registered charity, funded by Arts Council England. Artichoke works with the best creative minds to produce extraordinary shows that live in the memory forever, and believes that the arts should take place not only behind the closed doors of theatres and art galleries, but also in public places. In May 2006, Artichoke presented the biggest piece of free theatre ever seen in the UK, Royal de Luxe’s The Sultan’s Elephant. The story of the little girl giant and the 30 foot tall elephant won the hearts of the nation and the press claimed a million people filled the streets of London to watch. In 2008 the company joined London and New York by means of Paul St George’s Telectroscope, and people gathered day and night on both sides of the Atlantic to reunite lost family members or simply to catch a glimpse of life across the pond. Also in 2008 the company mounted the flagship event for Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations, with La Machine’s 50-foot high mechanical spider and her adventures in the city. And in 2009 the company has produced Antony Gormley’s 100-day long invasion of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, One & Other.

Sky Arts has generously committed to working with Artichoke for the next two years. Their support will enable Artichoke to develop new opportunities for artists to create work across the country and new ways to delight, surprise and challenge audiences everywhere.

About Durham Festivals and Events
In 2008, Durham hosted the award-winning Enlightenment, its first-ever international light based arts festival featuring outdoor arts installations by Asian and British artists and inspired by the county’s religious and industrial heritage. 30,000 visitors saw Durham’s bridges, river, landmarks and shop fronts transformed into a stunning exhibition of light based art. BRASS: Durham International Festival is one of the world’s fastest growing festivals celebrating global brass music. Over the past three years, Durham has welcomed musicians from five continents and more than 20 countries and annual audiences in excess of 80,000 for two weeks of free street performances and big band concerts in July. At the same time, work is underway to revive the lost tradition of Mystery plays in Durham. These biblical stories are being reinterpreted through contemporary media by local Durham artists under the direction of the city’s Gala Theatre. Durham’s Book Festival attracts leading literary figures each year to celebrate the power of the written word. In 2008, the festival was headlined by best-selling authors, Kate Atkinson (Whitbread prize-winner – Behind the Scenes at the Museum) and Bernard Cornwell (Sharpe series), TV comedian, author and activist Mark Thomas, and veteran BBC War correspondent Kate Adie.

Sky Arts: On Screen, Online, Onstage, and On the Streets
Lumiere is produced as part of a major two-year sponsorship with Artichoke, the ground-breaking company that brings art to the streets of towns and cities across the UK. Sky Arts is one of the largest corporate sponsors of the arts in the UK. With four arts channels in over 9 million customer homes across the UK and Ireland, Sky Arts has doubled output to 36 hours every day of the week on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2, with Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 2 HD offering the best programmes in glorious high definition Sky supports the arts and make them accessible off as well as on screen, to the broadest possible audience. Recent programme highlights include The Book Show – the UK’s only television programme dedicated to books, hosted by Mariella Frostrup; Songbook, a series on some of the greatest songwriters of the day; and Sky Arts Theatre Live! which saw Sky Arts return live theatre to television for the first time in twenty years.

Partners
Lumiere is produced by Artichoke in partnership with Sky Arts and with the support of Arts Council England. It is part of the 2009 Sky Arts Artichoke season and forms part of North East England’s world-class programme of festivals and events developed by culture10. The event is generously supported by Durham County Council and culture10, and a range of other sponsors and supporters including the European Union, Lumalive, JCB, Durham University and Durham Cathedral. Artichoke was invited to produce a large-scale event in Durham at the suggestion of Newcastle-based producer DGB Events.

About the City of Culture 2013 Bid
Durham’s culture bid is led by Durham County Council, in partnership with County Durham Partnership, Visit County Durham and Durham City Vision. The bid will centre around the following strands: ‘Cultural City – Cultural County’: a series of activities reconnecting the communities of the county with its capital city and vice-versa, reenergising the City as the economic, social and creative heart of the county. ‘Creative Durham’: a series of activities designed to enhance the county’s cultural life, encouraging community participation in cultural activities and promote Durham as an area where creative people can live and work. ‘Festival Durham’: an ambitious programme of events and festivals which will take Durham into the next decade, cementing its position as a true cultural destination. The new UK City of Culture competition was proposed to enable towns and cities to access the type of culture-led benefits that Liverpool achieved as European Capital of Culture in 2008. Evidence of the impact to Liverpool in 2008 can be accessed at www.impact08.net . Durham will be the first predominantly rural area to bid to take advantage of the benefits culture-led regeneration brings. Funding for the proposed bid comes from Performance Award Grant money awarded to local authorities who perform well.

About culture10
Lumiere forms part of North East England’s world-class programme of festivals and events in 2009, managed by culture10. culture10 is an annual curated programme of exceptional cultural events and festivals across NewcastleGateshead and North East England. Established in 2004, it is managed by the culture10 team, funded by Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, One North East, Northern Rock Foundation and Arts Council England, North East, working in partnership with NewcastleGateshead Initiative. For further details see www.NewcastleGateshead.com

Contacts
For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Ellen Harrison: ellen@ideageneration.co.uk
Emily Airton: emily@ideageneration.co.uk
Artichoke website
Lumiere website
Durham City of Culture website

The Pork & Pickle Pie Comedy Club is launching with a very special gig at The Britannia Pub in East London next week (at 8pm on Thursday November 26th).

Angelos Epithemiou, well-known for his appearances with Vic and Bob on this year’s Shooting Stars is headlining the night, which will also feature top-notch comedy from Bafta-award winning Will Andrews, much-loved film guru and stand-up Richard Sandling and some great sketch comedy from The Real Macguffins. Interviews are available.

Bafta-award-winning comedian Will Andrews is supporting Angelos, along with stars-in-the-making The Real Macguffins. Compere for the evening is the ever-popular, ever-talented Richard Sandling. Comedy-goers pay just £5 for a ticket which includes the cream of 2009’s stand-up comedy, a couple of surprise guests and most importantly of all a slice of The Britannia’s renowned pork and pickle pie.

The Pork & Pickle Pie Comedy Club is all about bringing the UK’s best new comedians to a wider audience, along with the best in savoury bar snacks.

To join the facebook group go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?v=info&gid=174839849354

To buy tickets for the event go to : http://porkandpicklepiecomedyclub.eventbrite.com/

The Three Amigos

UK’s first film night to combine the best in stand-up comedy with classic ‘guilty pleasures’ films
Date: Wednesday November 18th